Call for Projects - Federal Highways Bridge Program

On This Page

WSDOT is anticipating the availability of approximately $70 to $90 million of Federal Highway Bridge program funds for local agency bridge projects. The purpose of the Federal Highway Bridge program is to improve the condition of bridges through replacement, rehabilitation and preventative maintenance. Preventative maintenance is defined as steel bridge painting, scour mitigation, seismic retrofit, and deck/joint repair.

WSDOT is focusing on funding local agency bridges that are classified as structurally deficient with a sufficiency rating of 40 or less for replacement and structurally deficient with a sufficiency rating of 80 or less for rehabilitation.

More specifically the criteria are further defined as follows:

Only structurally deficient bridges with a sufficiency rating of less than 40 are eligible to apply for replacement funding.

Only structurally deficient bridges with a sufficiency rating of less than 80 are eligible to apply for rehabilitation funding.

Preventative Maintenance projects are allowed in the following four categories;

Bridge painting; only structures that have greater than 2 percent of total paint area in a condition state 3 are eligible for funding.

Scour mitigation projects will be evaluated based on the submitted documentation; priority will be given to bridges that are scour critical.

Seismic retrofit projects will be evaluated based on the submitted documentation; priority will be given to projects in higher risk seismic zones.

Deck resurfacing and repair; only structures that have a total area of 5 percent or greater of patches and spalls in the deck surface (condition state 2 plus condition state 3) are eligible for funding.

Eligible Applicants

All local agency bridge owners who currently have a bridge that meet the above criteria are eligible to apply for funding.

Funding

A total of approximately $70 to $90 million of federal funds is available. The maximum individual project funding from the program is limited to $12 million.

Match requirement

Replacement and rehabilitation projects will require a 20 percent local match; projects that proceed to construction by 2018 are eligible for a lower local required match of 13.5%.

Preventative maintenance projects are limited to a maximum of $3 million in federal funds and will require a 10 percent local match; projects that proceed to construction by 2018 are eligible for 100%.

Program requirements

Applicants are required to report quarterly on the status and expenditure plan of each project.

Program Contacts

Selection Process

All proposals will be reviewed to ensure that they are complete and eligible for funding. An advisory group will evaluate the proposals and make recommendations. A prioritized list of projects will be submitted to the WSDOT Local Programs Director by November 14, 2014, who will make final decisions on projects and grant awards. Announcements are expected by December 2014.